{"id":317489,"date":"2022-09-01T16:00:48","date_gmt":"2022-09-01T19:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/mostra-mundo-arabe-de-cinema-retoma-sessoes-presenciais\/"},"modified":"2022-09-05T12:43:56","modified_gmt":"2022-09-05T15:43:56","slug":"arab-world-film-festival-resumes-in-person-screenings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/arab-world-film-festival-resumes-in-person-screenings\/","title":{"rendered":"Arab World Film Festival resumes in-person screenings"},"content":{"rendered":"

S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 The Arab World Film Festival<\/strong> reopened its doors to in-person screenings this year. The opening of the event and the first screening took place this Wednesday (31) at CineSesc<\/strong> in S\u00e3o Paulo. The screenings occurred solely online in the two previous editions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

The return<\/strong> to in-person format was received with joy by the creators and supporters, who spoke at the opening ceremony. The Festival is co-organized by Brazil\u2019s Arab Culture Institute (ICArabe<\/strong>) and Social Service of Commerce (SESC) in S\u00e3o Paulo and sponsored by the Arab House<\/strong>, the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce\u2019s (ABCC) cultural center, and the Brazilian Sleep Institute.<\/p>\n

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The event marked the return to in-person screenings for the Festival<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Soraya Smaili<\/a>, the founder of ICArabe and creator of the Festival, recalled when the event was created, the cultural and even international scope it has today was not imagined. \u201cWe started, me and Simone Yunes, from CineSesc. In 17 years, many movies<\/strong> of our lives have been screened. It is a very emotional moment. We have to thank you for being here and honor all the people who couldn\u2019t be here with us. It was and still is a pandemic, and we have to face it as we courageously face it. Today we are here to celebrate the ancient Arab and Brazilian life and culture, which dialogue in such a harmonious way,\u201d pointed Smaili.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been on this path for 17 years and the right path,\u201d added Gilson Packer, manager of SESC S\u00e3o Paulo.<\/p>\n

For Silvia Antibas, cultural director of the ABCC, the event is already part of the cultural calendar in S\u00e3o Paulo. \u201cI am delighted to be here in person. We\u2019ve been partners since the beginning. During this time of the pandemic, we conducted a survey and confirmed there are over 12 million Arab descendants in Brazil; this corresponds to 6% of the Brazilian population. And for us, it is vital to show how we are adapted [in Brazil] and how the Arab people are represented in their diversity in this exhibition,\u201d said Antibas, who is also a historian.<\/p>\n